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Adware Firm DirectRevenue Pays $1.5 Million to Settle FTC Charges

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 20, 2007 - 1:24pm.

Washington - Adware distributor DirectRevenue has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges that it used unfair and deceptive methods to install its software on users' computers, and then obstructed them from easily removing it.

tags: Advertising | FTC | Privacy | Litigation | Adware | DirectRevenue |

Cingular, Others Settle Adware Suit With NY Attorney General

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 31, 2007 - 11:19am.

New York - Wireless carrier AT&T (Cingular) -- along with Travelocity.com and Priceline.com -- has agreed to change its policies when running online advertisements served through deceptively installed programs known as "adware."

tags: Mobile | Advertising | Lawsuits | Settlements | Cingular | Adware | Andrew Cuomo | Travelocity | Priceline |

Report: Microsoft Pondering Acquisition of Adware Firm Claria

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 30, 2005 - 7:07am.
New York -- Microsoft has been in talks over the last two weeks to purchase Claria, a provider of adware that has been sued by publishers in the past over its pop-up ads, The New York Times reported. Microsoft was reportedly willing to offer as much as $500 million for Claria (formerly Gator), although a person close to Microsoft told The Times that the deal may still fall through. Microsoft may see Claria, which offers software that monitors Web surfing habits in order to serve more relevant ads to users, as a means of enhancing its search advertising capabilities in the face of rival Google. Claria's BehaviorLink software is currently installed on some 40 million PCs. Critics of the deal within Microsoft say the purchase could provoke a negative reaction from privacy advocates, who see Claria's software as intrusive.
tags: Reports | Microsoft | Adware | Claria |

Report: Loudeye Seeding File-Sharing Networks With Pop-Ups, Adware

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 4, 2005 - 3:19am.
San Francisco -- PCWorld.com recently reported that Overpeer, an anti-piracy firm owned by Seattle-based Loudeye, has been seeding peer-to-peer file-sharing networks with spoof music and video files that launch pop-up ads, install adware and attempt to hijack a browser's home page. When a user downloads such a Windows Media Audio or Video file on a peer-to-peer network and then attempts to open it, the file launches the ads or adware instead of playing back the expected music or video. "Remember, the people who receive something like (the ad-laden media files), in some cases, were on P-to-P, and they were trying to get illicit files," Loudeye vice president Marc Morgenstern told PCWorld.com. Microsoft said it was looking into whether the spoof files violate the terms of its Windows Media licensing. "We wouldn't want to endorse anything that involved delivery of content that appears to be one thing, and then something else is delivered," Microsoft's David Moulton told PCWorld.com. When notified that ads for its company were being launched in this fashion, one company, Kanoodle, promptly had them removed. "Upon detecting or discovering any prohibited distribution activity, we eliminate it immediately," Kanoodle president Lance Podell told PCWorld.com.
tags: Reports | Loudeye | Adware | File-Sharing Networks | Pop-Ups |

Adware Firm Claria Files for IPO

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 13, 2004 - 6:21am.
Redwood City, Calif. -- Claria, a provider of advertising software formerly known as Gator, has filed for an initial public offering of shares with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company's software has been bundled with downloads of the popular Kazaa file-sharing application, and monitors the surfing habits of users in order to deliver targeted pop-up ads. It also provides software that can automatically fill in forms when ordering products or entering passwords online. Redwood City, Calif.-based Claria has battled several lawsuits against its adware, but claims 43 million people are currently using its products. Claria did not say how much it plans to raise in the IPO, but reported revenue of $90 million for 2003.
tags: IPO | Adware | Claria | Files | Firm |